New Orleans: Media Fingers in the Dike
By Tom Brewton (11/04/05)
The Washington Post and the Washington Times seem to have attended two different versions of the same Senate hearings.
Here's another example of media bias.
It's too early to conclude whose take is correct. But predictably, liberal-socialists can find no reason to blame a solidly Democratic administration in Blue-State New Orleans. And greedy private business must always be presumed guilty. In a perfect liberal scenario, Halliburton will be discovered to have been one of the levee contractors.
Note that the Washington Post places its focus upon the allegations of "two investigators." Their report does not even mention the testimony of the team comprised of the National Science Foundation and American Society of Civil Engineers, which is the focal point of the Washington Times article.
The Washington Post version:
Levees' Construction Faulted In New Orleans Flood Inquiry
Contractors' Misdeeds May Have Led to Breaches, Panel Is Told
By Joby Warrick and Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, November 3, 2005; A03
Investigators yesterday added a possible new explanation for some of the flooding that devastated New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina: contractors who may have skimped on construction materials in building the city's floodwalls and levees.
Experts probing the cause of the flooding have received at least a dozen allegations of major cheating by builders and possibly others involved in levee construction, two investigators said in testimony before a Senate panel. They said these were potentially criminal acts that may well have contributed to the collapse of the city's flood- control system on Aug. 29.
The Washington Times version:
'Malfeasance' cited in Katrina flooding
By Audrey Hudson
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published November 3, 2005
A team of engineers investigating the failure of New Orleans-area levees yesterday said power struggles among local boards and factions created a "public hazard" and that "malfeasance" may be to blame for catastrophic flooding in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
.... A lack of coordination among groups participating in the New Orleans Flood Defense System (NOFDS) led to differing heights of levees, inferior materials and may have prevented access to some of the breaches, said the preliminary report by the team comprised of the National Science Foundation and American Society of Civil Engineers.
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